Egypt: Hosni Mubarak's charges for deaths dismissed - CNN.com Mubarak tells Egyptian TV station: "I didn't commit anything" The 86-year-old is still serving a three-year sentence for embezzlement One man killed, nine people injured in protest near Tahir Square Prosecutor tell state media he will appeal verdict Egypt's former longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak was cleared of charges in a retrial Saturday and could soon be released -- a stunning reversal for a man who faced life imprisonment or worse after a revolution toppled him in 2011. A Cairo judge dismissed charges linking Mubarak to the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 revolt and found him not guilty of corruption. Mubarak, who ruled Egypt as president for 29 years, was stoic as his supporters in the courtroom cheered the decision that capped a months-long retrial. The 86-year-old, reclining on a hospital gurney in a defendants' cage, nodded while fellow defendants kissed him on the head.

Later, he told the country's Sada ElBalad TV station in a brief phone interview that he "didn't commit anything." "I laughed when I heard the first verdict," he said of the first trial. "When it came to the second verdict, I said I was waiting. It would go either way. It wouldn't have made a difference to me either way." Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat will appeal the verdict, Egypt's government-controlled Al-Ahram newspaper website reported early Sunday. Mubarak was convicted in 2012 of issuing orders to kill peaceful protesters during the country's 2011 uprising and was sentenced to life in prison. He appealed and was granted a new trial last year. JUST WATCHED MUST WATCH Egypt: Women after the revolution 02:58 Also acquitted Saturday were Mubarak's former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly and six of el-Adly's aides, who'd been accused of being connected to the deaths of 239 protesters as security forces cracked down on them in 2011. Mubarak's two sons also were acquitted Saturday of corruption.

Mubarak still has a three-year sentence for a previous conviction for embezzlement, but it wasn't immediately clear how much time he's already been credited with, and therefore when he will be free. CNN's efforts to reach Mubarak's lawyer Farid El-Deeb for comment weren't immediately successful. Both sides have alleged that Mubarak's trials have been politicized, with supporters arguing he was unfairly vilified and opponents fearing that he'd be acquitted as memories of the revolution faded. His legal fortunes did seem to parallel the political climate -- just last year, Mohamed Morsy, the Islamist who became Egypt's first democratically elected president, supported a retrial with the backing of his supporters, who argued Mubarak should have received a death sentence rather than life in captivity. But Morsy himself was deposed by the military in July 2013, as opponents accused him of pursuing an Islamist agenda at the exclusion of other factions. And now the Arab Spring revolt that ousted Mubarak has come nearly full circle -- Mubarak appears close to freedom; Morsy is jailed, his Muslim Brotherhood banned; and Morsy supporters allege the current government has returned to Mubarak's authoritarian practices.

Explaining the verdict Judge Mahmoud el-Rashidy said he dropped charges against Mubarak because Cairo Criminal Court didn't have the jurisdiction to try him for the protesters' deaths. The judge said the case that prosecutors initially referred to the court listed only el-Adly and his aides as defendants -- not Mubarak himself. But after mass protests pressured the prosecutor general to question Mubarak, a second referral was made to the court, and the two cases were merged into one. Lawyer Hoda Nasralla, who represents the families of 65 slain and injured protesters, said the inclusion of Mubarak in a second referral should have trumped his exclusion in the first. "The judge shied away from directly acquitting Mubarak even though he was accused of conspiring with Adly, and Adly was acquitted," she said. "The judge resorted to formalities instead." 'I want only God's retribution' Salway El-Sayed, mother of one of the slain 2011 protesters, sat down on a sidewalk outside the court after she heard Saturday's verdicts, praying to God to deliver justice.

She broke down in tears, her hands shaking, as she recalled her son Tamer Hanafy, who was killed in January 2011 at Cairo's Tahrir Square, epicenter of the uprising. "I'm worried my son's blood would go in vain," she said. "Our children's blood isn't cheap. Their blood is precious, like any other blood." "I don't want execution," she continued. "This won't bring back my son ... I want only God's retribution. Nothing more." Tahrir Square was closed to traffic following Saturday's verdicts. One man was killed and nine people were injured as several hundred demonstrators clashed nearby with Egyptian security forces, Egyptian Ministry of Health spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told CNN. Police fired tear gas and bird shot at the protesters. The Ministry of Interior said police were pelted by rocks before the incident escalated. The human rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, whose lawyers represented more than 60 civil plaintiffs in the case, said that Saturday's verdict solidified the impunity that it says security forces and their leaders enjoy. "Justice was dealt another severe blow," the group said in a news release.

How it started In January 2011, throngs of Egyptians filled the streets of Cairo to decry the country's poverty, unemployment and repression. Protesters called for Mubarak to step down but were met by a fierce and often violent government crackdown. Mubarak eventually stepped down in 2011. That freed up long-supressed Islamist movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to run for office. Morsy, backed by the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, became president in June 2012. But Morsy was ousted in a coup about a year later amid widespread protests against his rule. Since then, Cairo's military-installed government has banned the Brotherhood, calling it a terrorist group -- an allegation it denies -- and accusing it of being behind a wave of deadly attacks on police and the military. Many Islamist and secular activists have been arrested and given lengthy sentences. A restrictive protest law and repeated deadly crackdowns on demonstrations followed. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the general who led Morsy's ouster, was elected president in May after leaving the military to run for the office.

Not free yet Since Mubarak stepped down in February 2011, the ailing former ruler has appeared in court numerous times on a variety of charges, often wheeled in on a gurney. His lawyers say he suffered health problems after his 2011 arrest, including a stroke, and he has served much of his prison time at a military medical facility. In May, a Cairo court sentenced him to three years in prison for embezzlement. His sons Gamal and Alaa were sentenced to four years each on the same charge. All three were convicted of embezzling $18 million that was allocated for the renovation of presidential palaces. The Mubaraks have insisted they are not guilty. Court's decision to free Hosni Mubarak adds to Egyptian turmoil | World news | The Guardian Hosni Mubarak Court's decision to free Hosni Mubarak adds to Egyptian turmoil Ex-president to be put under house arrest, prime minister's office says, as EU suspends weapons exports in wake of killings Close This article is 3 years old Hosni Mubarak , the former Egyptian president, is to be freed after a Cairo court ordered his release.

Prosecutors said they would not appeal, so Mubarak could be out of prison as soon as Thursday, Egyptian media reported, although he will not be allowed to leave the country. Mubarak will then be put under house arrest, the prime minister's office said. The decision was authorised under Egypt's emergency law recently enacted under a security crackdown on Islamists, it added. Citing a security source, the state news agency said Mubarak would "likely" be taken to one of the state's vital installations or one of two military hospitals where he will be guarded under heavy security. The decision comes at a highly volatile moment after hundreds of Islamist protesters were killed last week and the military-backed government continues its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood . Jubilant supporters quickly launched a Facebook page to promote Mubarak's candidacy for the presidency next year. Overthrown in January 2011 at one of the early high points of the Arab spring, Mubarak had spent the last two years in detention and could be detained again. But his release is loaded with symbolism about the parlous state of Egypt and fading hopes for peaceful political change across the wider region – graphically underlined by the latest carnage in Syria .

Mubarak remains on trial for murder over the deaths of more than 800 protesters during the uprising against him. But after a separate corruption charge was settled this week, the time limit for him to remain in custody had expired. Egyptians angered at the army's removal of the democratically elected but deeply unpopular president, Mohamed Morsi , after mass protests last month will be infuriated by the coincidence of his unelected and autocratic predecessor walking free. "His release will cause chaos," warned legal expert Nasser Amin. "It will be used by Islamists as proof of the return of the old regime." Egyptian officials had acknowledged privately that freeing Mubarak in this highly charged atmosphere was likely to fuel tensions. "The government knows that if Mubarak is freed there will be public outrage," said Mohamed Abolghar, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic party. "But a court decision is a court decision." By keeping Mubarak under house arrest, Egyptian leaders may be trying to show they will not be too lenient with him to avoid angering the many Egyptians who held mass protests that led to the end of his rule in 2011.

The hearing that produced Wednesday's ruling was held in Tora prison, where Mubarak, 85 and in poor health, has spent most of his detention. He was given a life sentence last year for failing to stop the killing of protesters but that was overturned on appeal and he is being retried. He also faces other corruption charges but no other trial dates have been set. Most Egyptians have stopped following the legal twists and turns of the case but the significance and timing of this decision is still stunning. Saudi Arabia, dismayed that the US had abandoned Mubarak, is said to have been lobbying hard behind the scenes to have him freed. The Saudis helped put together a $12bn (£7.5bn) aid package for Egypt after Morsi was deposed last month. Sherief Gaber, of the Mosireen collective, a pro-revolutionary group, said: "The symbolism is clear coming from a completely revanchist judiciary, that even the symbolic victory of imprisoning Mubarak will be revoked, that the counter-revolution and the old regime are feeling empowered and petty.

"The judiciary and the police are the two institutions that are most entrenched and most a part of the old regime; they were on their heels for a while, but using the bogeymen of the Muslim Brotherhood and people's fear and exhaustion, they're just doing whatever they feel like to be personally spiteful and cruel even. "Mubarak after all was just a symbol, and we knew that the regime was much bigger and had not yet fallen but needed to (and still needs to)." The news prompted bitter reflections about the state of the Arab world two-and-a-half years after the uprisings in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen. "Give it five months and Mubarak, Assad, Ben Ali and Ali Saleh will hold a summit for the sake of good ol' days," tweeted Hassan Hassan, a Syrian commentator. The Egyptian government has signalled defiance in the face of international criticism of the recent killings and ongoing moves to crush the Brotherhood. EU foreign ministers met in Brussels in emergency session to review aid to Egypt worth €6.7bn. They suspended exports of weapons and goods that could be used for internal repression but did not halt aid programmes for fear of hurting ordinary Egyptians.

They called on the military authorities and Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement to resume negotiations to avoid further bloodshed. The US made clear on Tuesday that it has not made any firm decisions to cut assistance. "If there is a price to pay we will pay it," said one Egyptian official. "There is a frenzy of national feeling and people are defiant. It's not really about money. These are relationships we have invested in for 40 years. If the Europeans and Americans disengage Egypt will carry on. But it is too important to ignore." "To hell with US aid, foreign intervention, terrorism and foreign financing," the al-Umal newspaper said in a front-page headline on Tuesday. "We would rather starve than submit to foreign tutelage and American humiliation." Tamarrod, the protest movement which mobilised mass support for Morsi's removal, has also called for an end to US aid and to the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

The government in Cairo is pinning its hopes on promises from the Saudis and other conservative Gulf states to compensate Egypt for any financial losses due to punitive action by the US or Europe.Two more Islamist leaders were reported to have been detained on Wednesday after the arrest of the Brotherhood's leader or guide, Mohamed Badie, on Tuesday. Safwat Hegazy, an outspoken preacher, was captured while trying to cross theborder to Libya. Mourad Ali, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, was detained at Cairo airport.

Hundreds protest in city's smaller streets, dodging major thoroughfares where security forces are deployed in strength Published: 23 Aug 2013 Twin judicial processes are a metaphor for where Egypt has arrived under its new military-backed interim government Published: 25 Aug 2013 Ex-president and senior Brotherhood members face charges over deaths of protesters during 2011 and 2013 uprisings Published: 25 Aug 2013 Former president's transfer to hospital greeted by jubilation, indifference and fear that it is another sign of resurgent old order Published: 22 Aug 2013 For Mubarak, once Egypt's strongman, a long fall from grace - CNN.com For Mubarak, once Egypt's strongman, a long fall from grace By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN Updated 11:26 AM ET, Sat June 2, 2012 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Mubarak, left, with U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1982.

Story highlights Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killing of protesters Supporters slam his conviction, while anti-Mubarak protesters call for a harsher penalty He ruled the country for 30 years before his ouster as president in February last year The judge orders Mubarak's transfer to a maximum security prison A 30-year ironclad rule undone by an 18-day revolution saw its epilogue Saturday -- with former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered to spend the rest of his days behind bars . At one time, Mubarak, 84, dominated Egypt's political landscape by intimidating opponents and infiltrating political movements. Saturday, after a 10-month trial he attended on a stretcher locked inside a courtroom cage, a judge ordered his transfer to a Cairo maximum security prison, according to state TV. Angry protests erupted inside and outside the court as the former president's allies and foes voiced their reaction to the landmark verdicts. Some slammed the judge for finding him guilty, while others called for his execution.

While Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killing of pro-reform demonstrators -- a charge for which he could have faced the death penalty -- he was cleared of corruption, and his sons acquitted of the charges they faced. Judge Ahmed Refaat was in no doubt about the significance of the moment, as he spoke of the "dark" days of Mubarak's three-decade rule. Photos: Photos: Egyptians react to Mubarak verdict Photos: Photos: Egyptians react to Mubarak verdict Egyptians react to Mubarak verdict – Egyptians gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday, June 3, for a second day of protests over former President Hosni Mubarak's sentence of life in prison. Hide Caption MUST WATCH 2011: Inside Mubarak's trial 03:10 "We made a promise to have a fair trial based on the law of the land and we wanted this historical trial to be just and fair in order to give the rights to its true owners, no matter what the sentence will be," he said.

When the pro-democracy protests started in January last year, few would have dreamed this would be the punishment handed down to the man who ruled over them for so long. Timeline of Mubarak's ascent and fall from power Mubarak came to power in 1981, after then-President Anwar Sadat died in a hail of gunfire at a military parade -- killed by Islamic militants from within the army's own ranks after he took the dramatic step of making peace with Israel. He was a Soviet-trained pilot who was chief of staff of Egypt's air force during the 1973 Mideast war. The early success of Egyptian pilots against Israel made him a national hero, and Sadat made him vice president in 1975. Upon assuming office following Sadat's assassination, one of Mubarak's first acts was to declare a state of emergency that barred unauthorized assembly, restricted freedom of speech and allowed police to jail people indefinitely. It finally expired this week. Mubarak made extensive use of those emergency powers in his time at the helm.

The Egyptian army put down riots by disgruntled police officers in 1986, and Mubarak threw an estimated 30,000 people in jail when jihadists carried out a string of attacks on tourists. He won four terms as president in elections that were widely considered formalities. His fifth election, in 2005, was Egypt's first multi-party presidential vote, but many considered that, too, to be a sham. The country's economy stagnated for the first 20 years of his rule. Development picked up in the past decade, fueled by a move away from state control and by billions in tourist dollars, but analysts say its gains have been unevenly distributed. About 40 percent of Egyptians currently live in poverty. Under Mubarak, Egypt was a major player in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and it contributed troops to the U.S.-led coalition that drove Iraq out of Kuwait in 1991. Arab leaders: Where are they now? It receives about $1.3 billion in military aid from Washington every year, second only to Israel, and has received nearly $30 billion in economic aid since 1975, according to State Department figures.

Shortly before his fall from grace, President Barack Obama said Mubarak had been "very helpful on a range of tough issues." And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last summer told the Arab-language news network Al-Arabiya that he respected Mubarak. "He held peace between Israel and Egypt for over 30 years, and that's a great achievement, and I think it should not be forgotten," Netanyahu said. In 2005, when Egyptians mounted large-scale protests to demand fundamental and widespread reform, Mubarak intimidated the leaders of the officially banned but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, harassed middle-class demonstrators and managed to pick off protest leaders. But Mubarak was finally forced to step down February 11 after a nearly three-week uprising during which protesters demanded reform and a new government. The human rights group Amnesty International estimated at least 840 people were killed by security forces during the revolution and more than 6,000 were injured. Egypt is now ruled by a military council that has promised to hand over power after elections. A polarizing runoff vote for the presidency is due in mid-June, pitting a member of the Muslim Brotherhood against a former Mubarak minister.

Neither had been favored by the revolutionaries responsible for toppling Mubarak -- and some fear a win for former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik will mean the ousted strongman's regime lives on in a different guise. During his long years at the helm, Mubarak escaped at least two assassination attempts, including a close call in 1995 when Islamic militants opened fire on his motorcade at a pan-African conference in Ethiopia. In 2003, the aging autocrat collapsed while delivering a televised speech to the Egyptian parliament -- returning later to blame his illness on the flu. He went to Germany in 2004 for back surgery and returned in 2010 to have his gall bladder removed. Despite his bouts of illness, Mubarak never picked a vice president. He was widely considered to have anointed his son Gamal as his successor. Now Gamal and his brother, Alaa, have seen their ailing father -- who never expressed remorse while in court on his hospital gurney -- condemned to spend his last years behind prison walls. Although he may yet appeal the verdict, Mubarak is still the first of the leaders deposed in the Arab Spring to be handed a court sentence in person.

"This verdict instructs us all that leaders are not immune from prosecution and in the very heart of the Arab world, in a civilian court, a leader has actually been brought to justice," said David Scheffer, a former U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes. "That's extremely important." Life sentence for Egypt's Mubarak; sons acquitted Life sentence for Egypt's Mubarak; sons acquitted HAMZA HENDAWI Share 1 / 5 Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak lays on a gurney inside a barred cage in the police academy courthouse in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, June 2, 2012. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison Saturday for his role in the killing of protesters during last year's revolution that forced him from power, a verdict that caps a stunning fall from grace for a man who ruled the country as his personal fiefdom for nearly three decades.(AP Photo) CAIRO (AP) — Former President Hosni Mubarak has received a life sentence for failing to stop the killing of protesters during Egypt's uprising. But he and his sons have been cleared of corruption charges, setting off protests for greater accountability for 30 years of abuses under the old regime.

By nightfall on Saturday, a large crowd of up to 10,000 was back in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising, to vent anger over the acquittals. Similar protests went on in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and Suez on the Red Sea. "Justice was not served," said Ramadan Ahmed, whose son was killed on Jan. 28, the bloodiest day of last year's uprising. "This is a sham," he said outside the courthouse. Protesters chanted: "A farce, a farce, this trial is a farce" and "The people want execution of the murderer." The case against Mubarak, his sons, and top aides was very limited in scope, focusing only on the uprising's first few days and two narrow corruption cases. It was never going to provide a full accountability of wrongdoing under Mubarak's three decades of authoritarian rule enforced by a brutal police force and a coterie of businessmen linked to the regime who amassed wealth while nearly half of Egypt's estimated 85 million people lived in poverty.

Mubarak, 84, and his ex-security chief Habib el-Adly were both convicted of complicity in the killings of some 900 protesters and received life sentences. Six top police commanders were acquitted of the same charge with chief Judge Ahmed Rifaat saying there was a lack of concrete evidence. That absolved the only other representatives of Mubarak's hated security forces aside from el-Adly. It was a stark reminder that though the head has been removed, the body of the reviled security apparatus is largely untouched by genuine reform or purges since Mubarak was ousted 15 months ago. Many of the senior security officials in charge during the uprising and the Mubarak regime continue to go to work every day at their old jobs. In many ways, the old system remains in place and the clearest example of that is a key regime figure — Mubarak's longtime friend and last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq — is one of two candidates going to the presidential runoff set for June 16-17. On Saturday, Shafiq's campaign headquarters in the cities of Fayyoum and Hurghada were attacked and damaged.

The generals who took over from Mubarak have not shown a will for vigorously prosecuting the old regime. That is something that neither Shafiq and challenger Mohammed Morsi may have the political will or the muscle to change when one is elected president. Shafiq last week declared himself an admirer of the uprising, calling it a "religious revolution" and pledged there would be no turning of the clock while he is at the helm. On Saturday, he said the verdict showed that no on was above the law in today's Egypt. Morsi of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood quickly tried to capitalize on the anger over the acquittals, vowing in a news conference that, if elected, he would retry Mubarak along with former regime officials suspected of involvement in killing protesters. "Egypt and its revolutionary sons will continue their revolution. This revolution will not stop," he said. Mubarak and his two sons were acquitted of corruption charges, along with family friend Hussein Salem, who is on the run. The corruption charges were related to the purchase by the Mubaraks of five villas built by Salem at a fraction of their price and Mubarak's decree to allow a Salem company to export natural gas to Israel.

Rifaat cited a 10-year statute of limitations that had lapsed on the case of the villas. The sons — one-time heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa — will not be freed because they are awaiting trial on charges of insider trading. They have been held in custody in Torah prison, the same jail where Mubarak was flown after the sentencing. The charges related to killing protesters carried a possible death sentence that the judge chose not to impose, opting instead to send Mubarak to prison for the rest of his life. After the sentencing, Mubarak suffered a "health crisis" on a helicopter flight to a Cairo prison hospital, according to security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. One state media report said it was a heart attack, but that could not immediately be confirmed. Read More The officials said Mubarak cried in protest and resisted leaving the helicopter that took him to a prison hospital for the first time since he was detained in April 2011. They said the former leader insisted he be flown to the military hospital on the outskirts of Cairo where he was held in a luxury suite during the trial.

Mubarak finally left the chopper and moved to the prison hospital more than two hours after the helicopter landed there. Earlier, a bedridden Mubarak sat stone-faced and frowning in the courtroom's metal defendants' cage while Rifaat read out the conviction and sentence against him, showing no emotion with his eyes concealed by dark sunglasses. His sons Gamal and Alaa looked nervous but also did not react to either the conviction of their father or their own acquittals. Rifaat opened the session with an indictment of Mubarak's regime that expressed deep sympathy for the uprising 15 months ago. "The people released a collective sigh of relief after a nightmare that did not, as is customary, last for a night, but for almost 30 black, black, black years — darkness that resembled a winter night," he said. "They did not seek a luxurious life or to sit atop the world, but asked their politicians, rulers who sat on the throne of opulence, wealth and power to give them bread and clear water to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst and to be in a home that shelters their families and the sons of the nation far from the rotten slums," he said.

"They were chanting 'peaceful, peaceful' with their mouths while their stomachs were empty and their strength was failing. ... They screamed ... 'rescue us and pull us from the torture of poverty and humiliation.'" Rifaat criticized the prosecution's case, saying it lacked evidence and that there was nothing in what has been presented to the court that proved that the protesters were killed by the police. Because those who pulled the trigger have not been arrested, he added, he could not convict any of the top police officers of complicity in the killing of the protesters. The question of who ordered the killings of protesters was left unanswered. The prosecution had complained during the trial that it did not receive any help from the Interior Ministry in its preparation for the case and, in some cases, prosecutors were met with obstruction. One of the uprising's key pro-democracy groups, April 6, rejected the acquittals, saying Rifaat at once paid homage to the protesters and ignored the grief of the families of those killed by acquitting the top police commanders. "We will continue to cleanse Egypt from corruption," the group said.

Most of the several hundred who attended the court session represented all branches of Mubarak's police state — police conscripts in plainclothes, uniformed policemen ranging from lieutenants in their early 20s to graying generals, and mysterious looking men in business suits with two-way-radios treated with reverence by their uniformed colleagues. Outside the courtroom — a lecture hall in a police academy on the outskirts of Cairo that once bore Mubarak's name — one man fell to his knees and prostrated himself in prayer on the pavement while others danced, pumped fists in the air and shot off fireworks. But that scene soon descended into tensions and scuffles, as thousands of riot police in helmets and shields held the restive, mostly anti-Mubarak crowd back behind a cordon protecting the court. At least 60 people were injured, state TV reported. Angered by the acquittals, lawyers for the victims' families broke out chanting inside the courtroom as soon as Rifaat finished reading the verdict. "The people want to cleanse the judiciary," they chanted.

Some raised banners that read: "God's verdict is execution," while others screamed "illegal!" U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called the verdict a "landmark conviction" but criticized the prosecution for failing to fully investigate the case. Maha Youssef, a legal expert from the Nadim Center in Cairo, said the judge's verdict should be the basis of a successful appeal to throw out the convictions. "It's a completely politicized verdict that is meant to calm the masses. The essence of a ruling by a criminal court judge is not in the papers of the case but in his own personal conviction as someone who lives among the people and know what goes on in his society." ___ Associated Press correspondents Maggie Michael, Aya Batrawy and Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report.

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Egypt’s deposed leader Hosni Mubarak and his two sons were sentenced to three years in prison and received a fine in a retrial on corruption charges they faced earlier. Subscriber Content Egyptian Court Orders Mubarak Retrial June 4, 2015 07:10 a.m. An Egyptian court ordered the retrial of ousted President Hosni Mubarak for complicity in the deaths of hundreds of demonstrators during a 2011 uprising against his regime, overturning a previous ruling acquitting him. Subscriber Content Mubarak Allies Return for Egypt Vote February 10, 2015 04:17 p.m. Associates of ex-President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt sternly for nearly 30 years, are expected to dominate parliamentary elections in March, in what critics say is another step in reviving an autocratic past. Subscriber Content Mubarak Sons Are Freed From Jail January 26, 2015 06:55 p.m. The sons of ousted Egyptian autocrat Hosni Mubarak were freed Monday after nearly four years in prison, awaiting retrial on charges they played a central role in corruption perpetuated by the old regime.

Mubarak receives life term | The Spokesman-Review Mubarak receives life term By Hamza Hendawi Associated Press Thousands in Egypt protest limited scope of court’s decision SMS Leaders affected by Arab Spring Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was the first Arab Spring leader to be tried in his own country, but he is not the only ruler in the Middle East to be caught up in the uprisings that have swept across the region since early last year. Here’s a look at the fate of other Arab leaders: • Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali: The former Tunisian leader fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14, 2011, after a monthlong uprising that sparked the larger Arab Spring. Ben Ali has been convicted in absentia by a Tunisian court for corruption and other crimes during his 23-year authoritarian rule. • Libya, Moammar Gadhafi: After leading Libya for four decades, Gadhafi spent his final weeks shuttling from hideout to hideout in his hometown of Sirte until rebel fighters captured and killed him in October. • Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh: The Yemeni president clung to power for nearly a year in the face of mass protests against his rule.

Finally, under a U.S. and Gulf-brokered agreement, Saleh handed over power to his vice president, who earlier this year was elected president. But Saleh remains in Yemen and at the head of his party, and his relatives and loyalists still hold powerful positions in the military and government. • Syria, Bashar Assad: The Syrian president is clinging to power, despite a 15-month-long uprising against his rule that has turned into a bloodbath and near civil war. Activists say at least 13,000 people have been killed. Assad’s forces unleashed a withering crackdown against a revolt that began with peaceful protests, prompting many of the regime’s opponents – joined by army defectors – to take up arms against the government. Associated Press CAIRO – Former President Hosni Mubarak got a life sentence Saturday for failing to stop the killing of protesters during Egypt’s uprising. But he and his sons were cleared of corruption charges, setting off protests for greater accountability for 30 years of abuses under the old regime.

By nightfall, a large crowd of up to 10,000 was back in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the uprising, to vent anger over the acquittals. Similar protests went on in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria and Suez on the Red Sea. “Justice was not served,” said Ramadan Ahmed, whose son was killed on Jan. 28, the bloodiest day of last year’s uprising. “This is a sham,” he said outside the courthouse. Protesters chanted: “A farce, a farce, this trial is a farce” and “The people want execution of the murderer.” The case against Mubarak, his sons and top aides was limited in scope, focusing only on the uprising’s first few days and two narrow corruption cases. It was never going to provide a full accountability of wrongdoing under Mubarak’s three decades of authoritarian rule enforced by a brutal police force and a coterie of businessmen linked to the regime who amassed wealth while nearly half of Egypt’s estimated 85 million people lived in poverty.

Mubarak, 84, and his ex-security chief Habib el-Adly were both convicted of complicity in the killings of some 900 protesters and received life sentences. Six top police commanders were acquitted of the same charge with chief Judge Ahmed Rifaat saying there was a lack of concrete evidence. That absolved the only other representatives of Mubarak’s hated security forces aside from el-Adly. It was a stark reminder that though the head has been removed, the body of the reviled security apparatus is largely untouched by genuine reform or purges since Mubarak was ousted 15 months ago. Many of the senior security officials in charge during the uprising and the Mubarak regime continue to go to work every day at their old jobs. In many ways, the old system remains in place. The clearest example of that is a key regime figure – Mubarak’s longtime friend and last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq – is one of two candidates going to the presidential runoff set for June 16-17. On Saturday, Shafiq’s campaign headquarters in the cities of Fayyoum and Hurghada were attacked and damaged.

The generals who took over from Mubarak have not shown a will for vigorously prosecuting the old regime. That is something that neither Shafiq nor challenger Mohammed Morsi may have the political will or muscle to change when one is elected president. Shafiq last week declared himself an admirer of the uprising, calling it a “religious revolution,” and pledged there would be no turning back of the clock while he is at the helm. On Saturday, he said the verdict showed that no one was above the law in today’s Egypt. Morsi, of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, quickly tried to capitalize on the anger over the acquittals, vowing in a news conference that, if elected, he would retry Mubarak along with former regime officials suspected of involvement in killing protesters. “Egypt and its revolutionary sons will continue their revolution. This revolution will not stop,” he said.

Published: June 3, 2012, midnight Revolution in Egypt - Timelines - Los Angeles Times Timeline Revolution in Egypt Protests against polit­ic­al re­pres­sion and un­em­ploy­ment triggered Egypt’s so­cial up­ris­ing, which toppled Pres­id­ent Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in of­fice. Click or drag to advance Published: June 19, 2012 Credits: Kelsey Jane Clark, Maloy Moore, Ben Welsh , TimelineSetter Advertisement About The Data Desk This page was created by the Data Desk , a team of reporters and Web developers in downtown L.A.

Los Angeles Times, 202 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012 | Copyright Ben-Eliezer: My friend Mubarak gave orders not to open fire on protesters | The Times of Israel Ben-Eliezer: My friend Mubarak gave orders not to open fire on protesters In Israel Radio interview, Labor MK says he offered deposed president medical treatment in Eilat Knesset member Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (photo credit: Flash90) Writers Yifa Yaakov Yifa Yaakov is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel. Follow or contact: Egypt Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak instructed the security forces under his command not to open fire on protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Labor MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer — a close friend of the ousted Egyptian leader — said Saturday in an interview with Army Radio. “I know that he gave orders not to open fire,” Ben-Eliezer said, adding that Mubarak did not necessarily know what exactly was ensuing in the streets at the time of the revolution that brought him down last year.

Earlier on Saturday, Mubarak was convicted by an Egyptian court on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during last year’s uprising that forced him from power. As the 84-year-old was being transferred by helicopter to Cairo’s Tora Prison, he suffered what was said to be a heart attack. Meanwhile, crowds began to gather in the streets of Cairo, protesting the “light” verdict which was criticized by the country’s Muslim Brotherhood leaders — leading contenders for the Egyptian presidency. “The verdict brought me deep sorrow, because I admire that man … he is an irreplaceable leader … the last of his kind,” said Ben-Eliezer in the interview. “It hurts. I know him, his house, his family. It’s someone who’s close to you, someone you know, and suddenly you see this giant who was once the king of the Middle East — actually, the undisputed leader of the Middle East — sitting in a cave like some injured animal, helpless but still keeping his dignity intact.” Image capture from Egyptian state television of Judge Ahmed Rifaat handing down former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's life sentence.

Ben-Eliezer said that prior to Saturday’s verdict, Mubarak had received the best of medical care, so it was not surprising that his condition deteriorated so soon after leaving for the Egyptian capital’s Tora Prison. “I believe he suffered a heart attack,” he said. “I wish him all the best.” In the past, he said, Mubarak had not only proved himself as a nationalist Egyptian patriot and war hero, leading the Egyptian nation toward progress, but had also brought stability to the war-torn Middle East. “He was the main reason for the stability of the Middle East, and there was none other like him. He held the Middle East together.” When Mubarak was ousted, an era came to an end — an era not of democracy, Ben-Eliezer allowed, but of great leadership. “With all their good intentions — and they do have good intentions — the Americans want to bring democracy.

But we have entered a different era, an era of Islamization … full of hatred of Israel … When I hear the leading candidate for the Egyptian presidency state that once he is chosen, he will change the Egyptian constitution into Islamic law, it doesn’t make me feel too good.” Image capture from Egyptian state television of former president Hosni Mubarak after being sentenced to life in prison. Though the White House meant well, according to Ben-Eliezer, it too has now begun to question its policy of democratization in the Middle East. “I quote people in the US administration who also call it a mistake. The Arab leadership has to think twice before it heeds the calls coming from Washington,” he said, adding that while Islamization was dangerous for Israel, it could not be ignored. Jerusalem, he said, would have to hold dialogue with Islamist factions in the Middle East. “That’s all we have. It’s not easy, but we have to get used to it,” concluded Ben-Eliezer.

Referring to the reasons for his friend Mubarak’s downfall, Ben-Eliezer opined that the former leader had made two major mistakes — the first being misreading the socio-economic reality of his country, and the second being appointing his son Gemal as his successor. “He didn’t see the socio-political reality as it was, the distress of 85 million people, one-third of whom earned barely a euro and a half per day. It’s difficult, complicated, complex,” he said. And when Mubarak appointed his son as successor, “the public didn’t accept it, I’m not even sure the military accepted it. Things went downhill from there.” As the interview progressed, Ben-Eliezer revealed that when Mubarak had fled to Sharm al-Sheikh, he himself had suggested that the former president make his way to Eilat for medical treatment. “He’s a very sick man” — 84, and ill with pancreatic cancer, Ben-Eliezer said.

“Mubarak responded immediately (to the offer), saying ‘I was born here, this is my home and this is where I will die.'” Commenting on the Tahrir Square protests which spread like wildfire and led to the ouster of the man who had stood at Egypt’s helm for 30 years, Ben-Eliezer said that those who had instigated and led the protests unfortunately had no place in Egypt’s new political reality. “Perhaps people thought that those guys in jeans who had led the revolution would rule, but look what happened: where are those guys in jeans? Where are those who had led Tahrir Square? They’re on the sidelines. The Islamists are the ones sitting in the parliament.”

Question: Hosni Mubarak, who spent 20 years as the leader of what country, received a life sentence last week on charges of killing protesters during last year's revolution?
Answer: Egypt